VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 4
by a majority of her IEP team. Let us not forget that Ivey was not being served
appropriately.
This petty nonsense circling the role of the intervener has been a common
denominator in a majority of our IEP meetings. When filtered out, the outcome is
an IEP that is not being executed due to team members refusing to comply with the
IEP. That is against IDEA. This is where I, as a parent, come into play, and schools
find themselves in a very gray area.
I have sat through too many heated meetings, with Ivey's IEP in hand,
reciting the role of the intervener. One specific example is as follows: We had a
meeting with a service provider who actually said, "I have a degree and have been
doing this for over 20 years. She (the intervener) doesn't even have a college
diploma." And when I asked the service provider, "Okay then, in those 20 years,
how many students have you worked with, like Ivey, who has bilateral
anophthalmia (no eyes) and hearing loss, is nonverbal, uses a wheelchair, has
seizures, and has an intellectual disability? And, Ivey communicates using touch
cues, tactile symbols, and tactile sign language. Do you know Ivey's touch cues
and how to use the tactile symbols? Do you sign?" Her response was, "Ivey is my
first student 'like this'. No, I don't know the tactile things and I don't sign. But, I
don't like being told what to do by 'her'."
